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Quiet, compact gaming computer DIY - Page 3

post #31 of 38
2/26/08 at 8:00pm
I have an Antec P182 and Lian-Li PC-A70. The A70 moves more air and is quieter (surprising because I thought the P182 was pretty good with the damping). The key was in the fans.

But the biggest difference in noise was.. drumroll.. the location of the case. I found I could barely hear the PC when I placed it on the floor below the desk. That's while I sitting AT the desk of course.

A good small case would be the Antec Sonata or Super LANboy
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post #32 of 38
3/15/08 at 1:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SenjStevo View Post
Right heres my rough draft:

MicroATX Case:
Antec NSK3300(smaller and a bit cheaper in the uk i think) OR
Antec NSK2400(better cooling, kinda cool horizontal audio stack look)

Mobo:
Asus P5K-VM G33 supports faster RAM speeds but..

The P5E-VM HDMI G35 or P5E-VM SE G35 are newer.
The SE version is about £30 cheaper but i'm not sure why apart from the lack of HDMI.

CPU:
Core2Quad E6600(as recommended by terrymx)

Heatsink/fan?
Don't know yet, there are many options, i'll probably post on SilentPC forums and find out which heatsink would be best taking into account the size of a microATX case.

Hard Disk:
Any Western Digital Caviar seems to be a good option.

RAM:
I'm not interested in overclocking, so i guess any good DRR2-800 or 1066 will be fine. 2GB minimum i would think, maybe 4GB because i have Vista-64bit.

VGA+cooling:
Again this depends on the microATX case limitations, but i'd love to get a 8800GT and Artic Cooling Accelero S1
Or i'll have to be satified with either a 8600GT, the newer 9600 model or a ATI card which is small enough.

Optical Drive:
Asus DVD burner, either the 1814BL OR 2014BL(cheers Iron_Dreamer)

Now all i need is £600
Get the 2014BL. My 8800GTS 512mb isn't the loudest component in my system (P182, 1000RPM Ultra Kaze cooling CPU, 1200RPM Antec fans, TX750). A 9600GT wouldn't be too bad, but I'd still go with the 8800 series. You could always go with one of those Zalman's that don't protrude massively above the Video Card, too, if the Accelero doesn't work out.

For an HDD, get the WD Greenpower or a Samsung HDD. WD Greenpowers are the *quietest* HDD's on the market, bar none. Samsung HDD's come in second, but have better performance. I have a Samsung F1 1TB, and from reviews I think it's the fastest 1TB HDD on the market, but in my system it's also extremely quiet; I can't hear it unless I try, even if I'm defragging I can't hear it unless I put my ear next to the case.
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post #33 of 38
3/15/08 at 2:25pm
Best small sized cooler is probably the Scythe Ninja Mini it is quite cheap too. For the graphics card you should probably try and get the 9600 or HD 3850 since they do not require as much cooling as the old ones. Maybe you can even get one with a small passive cooling solution in the near future I know that a lot of brands have plans to do just that.
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post #34 of 38
3/15/08 at 2:31pm
I've always been against passively cooled anything for some reason. IMO, even a 500RPM fan would massively trounce passive, and you can't hear the fan at that speed anyway.
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post #35 of 38
3/15/08 at 9:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wanderman View Post
if it was celsius then he just fried his chip. I think the max case temp for a chip is like 85C before they start throttling.
It was farienhient, it was a bit off from the bios temps, add ten degrees, still not bad considering a passive cooler. I ended up swapping back in the extreme edition and debating over this,

SFF liquid cooled,

or

Full sized case (mountainmods twice 7) liquid cooled.

I'll try and do the SFF completely internal, the price will be in the same ball park +/- 50 dollars, (I have cooling stuff for the full size already.) I just love the idea of a totally portable overclocked beast. Just a lot of mod work ahead and away from my favorite forum.

Did the starter of this thread throw out a target budget/size of computer he wanted to start on? I work for a major computer retailer, I may be able to keep an eye out for deals and what not.

Also check out the NZXT Rogue, a bit big for SFF but smaller than a normal case, excellent airflow! Upgrade the fans to low decibel fans and you'll be good to go.
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post #36 of 38
3/16/08 at 1:26pm
if you get a sg03 you could probably mount a switech apogee (with the integrated pump) and that radiator ( with integrated res) into the front grill.
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post #37 of 38
3/17/08 at 10:30am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by brotherlen View Post
Did the starter of this thread throw out a target budget/size of computer he wanted to start on? I work for a major computer retailer, I may be able to keep an eye out for deals and what not.
I live in Scotland, so i aim to buy all my components from online stores/ebay based in the UK but thanks anyway.

Unfortunately i just brought a shed load of hi-fi stuff, and a camera, which is going to take up some serious easter holiday time. Vintage audio is fun! Downside is no money or time now for computer Have to wait for summer i think. Still by that time 8800GT will be pretty cheap, and there might be a Micro Mobo with a faster memory capability.
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post #38 of 38
3/17/08 at 1:37pm
By summer that card will be dirty cheap. You can probably get a passively cooled HD 3870 for about the same as a 8800GT cost now
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